The Healthy Day Series #3: Set Purposeful Intentions
It’s a pretty hard sell to ask someone to reverse engineer their day before they even get the chance to live it as the thought of how you’re going to navigate every aspect of your life can feel both daunting and restricting. Most of us simply go about our routine on autopilot without giving it any extra attention so that we can just get through the day! So when we’re confronted with the idea of setting intentions it’s easy to assume that,
It feels like we’re creating unnecessary pressure and,
We don’t want to suffer the discomfort of not living up to them.
So rather than giving our wants and needs the due consideration that they deserve we simply plough forward with our routine on autopilot and when done for long enough it’s easy to become somewhat of a passenger to our own lives. Lost in this state of mind is any active participation in our fate and in it’s place comes our reactionary side to fill the gap.
Being that you’re a highly complex organism with a plethora of things to tend to if you want to optimize your short time on this big blue rock hurling through space, this doesn’t seem like the best way to go!
I don’t know about you but I don’t want to go around putting out fires all day because I failed to be proactive with my life. So it stands to reason that I have a responsibility to my future self to spend a little time setting the tone instead of going in blind. And it turns out that although the time you put into this practice is minimal at best, the reward is immense. All it takes is 5 minutes before you step out the door and get on with your day.
Here are two things to remember:
A Journal is one of the most powerful tools you’ll ever use
Keeping a journal has changed my life and I’m betting it can change yours too. Keep one on your bedside table and use it as a tool for clarifying your thoughts in the morning and setting your intentions for the day, or to reflect on the day that has just passed to clear your mind for a good nights sleep. Write freely, honestly and openly and limit your intent to a few actionable things that are relatively easy to conquer.
Speak to yourself as if you’re a friend
We’re all our own worst critics. Yet we easily encourage our friends when they’re facing similar dilemmas while simultaneously chastising ourselves for our own incompetence. You’re not always going to crush the day and when you don’t, don’t sweat it. Put your judgment aside and reflect on what you can do better next time. This is when the journal really comes in handy.
Check out this QUICK AND POWERFUL HEADSPACE MEDITATION on the power of setting intentions.
Until next time,
-Coach Kev